WHO says tobacco industry “used” institute to undermine its policies

The tobacco industry has been accused by the World Health Organization (WHO) of using a scientific institute to undermine its efforts to control and reduce the use of tobacco. The industry helped to finance a symposium on smoking run by the institute and tried to influence the topics discussed at another one, WHO alleges.

The credibility of the International Life Sciences Institute, which is funded partly by the food and drinks industry, has been called into question in a document drawn up by the WHO's tobacco free initiative. It provides evidence that the institute was receiving money from the tobacco industry throughout the period 1983 to 1998.

The institute describes itself as an independent, non-governmental organisation that “advances the understanding of scientific issues relating to nutrition, food safety, toxicology, risk assessment and the environment by bringing together scientists, …